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Source apportionment of microplastics in indoor dust: Two strategies based on shape and composition
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Researchers developed a shape-based index using laser direct infrared analysis of over 100,000 microplastic particles in indoor dust from 39 Chinese cities to quantify the contribution of textile fiber shedding as a source of indoor microplastic contamination.
Microplastic (MP) pollution is widely distributed in the environment. However, methods for source apportionment of MPs are still lacking. In this study, the shape and size of 102,860 MPs in indoor dust from 39 cities of China were analyzed by laser direct infrared, and accordingly, a shape index (f) based on MP's aspect ratio was developed to assess the contribution of textiles release. In addition, a composition index (f) based on the ratio of the mass concentration of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) to polyamide (PA), which were detected by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, was proposed. The contribution of textile source and non-textile source to the indoor MPs were also estimated based on f. It is estimated by f that 43% of MPs in indoor dust was released from textiles. Among the most abundant MPs in indoor dust, 98% of polyurethane, 94% of PA and 92% of PET come from the textile source, 76% of polypropylene and almost all of polyethylene come from the non-textile source. f indicates that 83% of PET MPs comes from textile source, i.e., polyester. Considering the application proportion of PET in textile and non-textile industry, it is estimated that 59% of MPs in indoor dust comes from textile source, which is similar to the result obtained by f.
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